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LIB  R.AR.Y 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 
OF    ILLINOIS 


630.7 
1Kb 

no.  Gl-84- 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 


URBANA,   JUNE,    1902. 


BULLETIN  NO.  73- 


COMPARISON    OF    SILAGE    AND   SHOCK    CORN 

FOR  WINTERING  CALVES  INTENDED 

FOR  BEEF  PRODUCTION. 


BY  HERBERT  W.  MUMFORD,  B.  S.,  PROFESSOR  OF  ANIMAL  HUSBANDRY, 
COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE,  AND  CHIEF  IN  ANIMAL  HUSBANDRY, 
AGRICULTURAL  EXPERIMENT  STATION. 


OBJECT. 

The  object  of  this  experiment  is  to  determine  the  relative  mer- 
its of  silag-e  and  shock  corn  as  factors  in  beef  production.  The 
comparison  is  made  both  by  weight  of  feeds  and  area  used  in  their 
production.  Everything-  considered  it.  seemed  best  to  beg-in  with 
eig-ht-tnonths-old  calves;  to  feed  them  liberally  throug-h  the  winter 
months  without  attempting-  to  fatten  them  or  to  secure  the  greatest 
possible  g-ains  ;  to  turn  them  to  grass  with  or  without  grain  accord- 
ing- to  the  season,  and  the  abundance  and  kind  of  pasturag-e  avail- 
able ;  and,  finally,  to  finish  them  during-  the  second  fall  and  wint- 
er on  rations  similar  to  those  used  in  wintering-  them  as  calves. 
The  calves  were  purchased  in  Kansas  during-  the  early  fall  of 
1901,  by  Mr.  E.  D.  Funk,  an  extensive  cattle  feeder  of  Blooming-ton, 
McLean  County,  Illinois,  upon  whose  farm  this  experiment  was  con- 
ducted and  to  whom  the  Experiment  Station  is  indebted  for  his  ac- 
tive interest  and  cooperation. 


269 


270  BULLETIN   NO.   73  [Jttne, 

The  feeding-  extended  over  a  period  of  88  days.  Equal  areas 
of  the  same  kind  of  corn  were  harvested  as  silage  and  shock  corn 
for  use  in  this  experiment,  a  careful  record  being-  kept  of  the  cost 
of  harvesting  and  feeding-  each.  After  the  termination  of  the  win- 
ter feeding-  the  calves  were  turned  to  grass  May  17,  1902.  Their 
g-ains  will  be  noted  at  frequent  intervals  during  the  grazing  season. 
Next  fall  and  winter  they  will  again  be  placed  in  the  feed  lot  where 
they  will  receive  rations  similar  to  those  of  the  first  winter  for  a 
time  sufficient  to  finish  them  for  the  market.  The  experiment  will 
be  terminated  by  a  slaug-hter  test. 

PLAN  OF  EXPERIMENT — ANIMALS  USED. 

Fifty  eig-ht-months-old  grade  Hereford  and  grade  Shorthorn 
calves  were  selected  for  this  experiment.  Upon  their  arrival  at 
Mr.  Funk's  farm  the  calves  were  given  the  run  of  blue  grass  past- 
ture  and  stalk  fields  until  within  a  few  weeks  of  the  date  of  begin- 
ning- the  experiment  when  they  all  received  shock  corn  and  mixed 
hay.  The  calves  as  they  arrived  from  Kansas  were  quite  thin, 
showing-  the  effect  of  short  pastures  ;  but  by  the  time  they  were 
put  in  the  experiment,  February  5,  1902.  they  were  in  g-ood  thrifty 
condition  and  of  about  500  pounds  averag-e  weight.  It  was  a  de- 
cided advantag-e  to  be  able  to  get  calves  that  were  so  nearly  uni- 
form and  that  had  been  similarly  treated.  They  were  divided 
into  two  lots  of  twenty-five  each,  care  being-  taken  to  make  the  lots 
equal  as  to  age,  thrift  and  quality. 

Ten  shotes  averaging-  65  pounds  each  were  placed  with  each 
lot  of  calves,  the  object  being-  to  reduce  the  waste  of  shock  corn 
feeding1  to  the  minimum  by  converting-  the  corn  in  the  droppings 
into  pork  and  to  determine  what  benefit,  if  any,  pigs  would  get  in 
following  silage-fed  steers. 

SHELTER  FOR  CALVES  AND  PIGS. 

The  calves  and  pigs  were  given  the  run  of  feed  lots  in  which 
they  had  access  to  the  shelter  of  a  large  shed  adjoining  the  barn  in 
which  were  the  mixed  hay  and  the  stave  silo  containing  the  silage 
used  in  this  experiment.  The  shelter  provided  for  these  calves 
was  warmer  and  more  protected  than  the  average  feed  lot  shed,  ow- 
ing to  its  location  and  to  the  fact  that  it  was  not  all  open  on  one 
side.  The  calves  and  pigs  gained  access  to  it  by  large  doorways 
opening  to  the  south.  The  kind  of  shelter  afforded  is  specified  be- 
cause it  is  generally  believed,  and  rightly  so,  that  cattle  fed  large- 
ly on  silage  or  other  succulent  food  should  have  warmer  quarters 
than  those  fed  on  a  dry  ration.  Then,  again,  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  the  animals  used  in  this  experiment  were  calves  which 


I9O2.]  CORN    SILAGE   AND   SHOCK  CORN   FOR   BEEF   PRODUCTION.  271 

we  were  not  attempting-  to  fatten,  but  simply  to  keep  growing 
nicely.  It  is  economy  to  give  such  calves  reasonably  warm  winter 
quarters  even  in  localities  where  there  might  be  a  question  as  to  the 
economy  of  furnishing-  to  fleshy  cattle  on  full  feed  anything  more 
than  shelter  from  wet  storms  and  cold  driving  winds. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  surround  both  the  silage  and  the 
shock  corn  lots  with  conditions  equally  favorable  for  securing  the 
best  results  from  each  feed. 

RATIONS  FED. 

The  amount  of  corn  put  into  the  silo  represented  an  area  of 
5.33  acres.  An  equal  acreage  of  corn  was  also  cut  and  shocked  in  the 
field  where  it  remained  until  needed  for  feeding  to  the  calves  dur- 
ing the  winter  and  spring  months.  All  of  the  corn  was  cut  with  a 
corn  binder. 

There  was  a  total  of  101,200  pounds  or  50.60  tons  of  corn  put  in- 
to the  silo.  As  taken  out  there  were  86,178.81  pounds,  or  43.09 
tons.  There  was,  therefore,  a  total  loss  of  7.51  tons,  or  14.88  per 
cent,  in  the  siloing  of  5.33  acres  of  corn.  Of  this  loss  two  tons 
were  taken  from  the  top  of  the  silo  in  a  condition  unfit  for  use. 
This  would  leave  5.51  tons,  or  10.88  per  cent,  as  shrinkage  in  gross 
weight.  This  is  not  an  unusually  high  percentage.  When  it  is 
remembered  that  a  total  of  only  50.60  tons  of  corn  were  put  into  the 
silo  from  5.33  acres  it  will  be  seen  that  the  yield  of  silage  per  acre 
was  about  ten  tons  or  below  what  an  average  crop  should  be  for 
Illinois.  It  is  well  known  that  there  was  a  short  corn  crop  last 
season.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  in  this  case  the  corn  was  of  a 
small  early  maturing  variety  and  it  is  easy  to  account  for  the  low 
tonnage  secured.  This  shortage  in  yield  per  acre  was  not  as  ap- 
parent in  the  case  of  the  silage  as  with  the  shock  corn.  Had  the 
plot  which  was  fed  as  shock  corn  been  husked  and  the  stover  field- 
cured  there  would  have  been  a  yield  of  only  thirty-two  bushels  of 
shelled  corn  per  acre,  while  the  yield  of  cured]stover  per  acre  would 
have  been  1.68  tons.  Of  the  yield  of  shock  corn  38.4  per  cent,  was 
ear  corn  (70  pounds  to  the  bushel)  and  61.6  per  cent  was  stover. 
It  will  be  seen  that  the  proportion  of  corn  to  stover  in  this  instance 
was  altogether  too  small  and  the  total  yield  of  corn  and  stover 
much  below  a  normal  crop.  The  stover  usually  represents  from  50 
to  55  per  cent,  of  the  total  tonnage  of  the  corn  crop,  the  average 
generally  being,something  above  50  per  cent. 

While  these  small  yields  interfere  with  our  making  a  good 
showing  as  to  the  total  number  of  pounds  of  beef  it  is  possible  to 
produce  from  an  acre  of  corn  either  as  silage  or  as  shock  corn,  they 


BULLETIN   NO.   73.  {June, 

do  not  interfere  with  our  comparing-  the  results  of  feeding-  the  corn 
crop  by  these  two  methods. 

The  shock  corn  from  the  5.33  acres  was  weig-hed  as  fed  out. 
The  total  amount  fed  was  29,095  pounds,  or  14.55  tons,  very  close 
to  one-third  of  the  gross  weig-ht  of  the  silag-e  as  fed  out. 
The  rations  were  made  up  as  follows  : 

Lot  1.     Silag-e,  whole  oats,  and  mixed  hay. 
Lot  2.     Shock  corn;  whole  oats,  and  mixed  hay. 
That  we  mig-ht  be  able  to  make  as  direct  a  comparison  of  the 
corn  part  of  these  rations  as  possible,  the  same  amounts  of  whole 
oats  and  mixed  hay  were  fed  to  each   lot  except  as  noted  below, 
while  the  amount  of  silag-e  and  shock  corn  fed  varied  with  the  ap- 
petites of  the  calves.     It    was  thought  advisable,  too,  to  keep  the 
amounts  of  food-stuffs  other  than  shock  corn  and   silage  as  small 
as  possible,  since  corn  and  its  products  are  bound  to  remain  the 
greatest  factors  in  beef  production. 

As  all  the  calves  had  been  getting  shock  corn  and  mixed  hay 
up  to  the  beginning  of  the  experiment  the  calves  in  Lot  2  natu- 
rally took  to  their  ration  more  readily  than  did  the  calves  in  Lot  1, 
which  were  started  on  silage,  a  food-stuff  with  which  they  were 
entirely  unfamiliar.  It  should  be  said,  however,  that  the  steers  in, 
Lot  1  never  failed  to  relish  their  silage  after  the  first  few  days. 

The  average  daily  ration  for  each  steer  at  the  beginning  of  the 
experiment,  February  5,  1902,  was  as  follows  : 

Lot  I.     Silage  15     Ib. 

Oats 2     Ib. 

Mixed  hay 4     Ib. 

Lot  2.     Shock  corn 11.5  Ib. 

Oats 2     Ib. 

Mixed  hay 4     Ib. 

The  amount  of  mixed  hay  fed  to  Lot  1  was  increased  on  the 
second  day  of  the  experiment  to  6  pounds  per  head  per  day  as  the 
ration  given  above  did  not  seem  tp  satisfy  the  calves.  On  the 
third  day  the  amount  of  silage  was  increased  to  20  pounds  per 
head  per  day.  It  took  about  three  weeks  to  get  the  proportions  of 
food-stuffs  used  satisfactorily  adjusted  ;  especially  was  this  true 
with  the  lot  receiving  silage.  Each  steer  in  Lot  1  would  have 
consumed  25  pounds  of  silage  after  the  first  ten  days.  The  aver- 
age daily  ration  for  each  steer  on  March  3,  1902,  was  as  follows  : 

Lot  i.     Silage 25     Ib. 

Oats 2     Ib. 

Mixed  hay  (clover  and  timothy) 4     Ib. 

Lot  2.     Shock  corn 13.8  Ib. 

Oats 2     Ib. 

Mixed  hay  (clover  and  timothy).  .'. 4     Ib. 


CORN  SILAGE  AND  SHOCK  CORN  FOR  BEEF  PRODUCTION.        273 

In  a  week's  time  it  was  found  that  the  shotes  following1  the 
calves  getting  silage  were  not  only  failing-  to  make  satisfactory 
gains,  but  were  actually  losing  in  weight  quite  rapidly,  a  condition 
which  was  anticipated.  The  feeding  of  one  pound  of  ear  corn  to 
each  of  the  shotes  in  Lot  1  began  February  13th.  Under  this  treat- 
ment the  pigs  maintained  a  constant  weight  until  March  3d  when 
the  ear  corn  was  increased  from  one  to  two  pounds  per  pig  per  day. 
During  the  week  following  this  increase  in  feed  the  pigs  made  an 
average  daily  gain  of  nearly  a  pound  per  head.  During  the  next 
week  however  they  lost  about  a  tenth  of  a  pound  and  it  was 
thought  best  to  increase  still  further  the  amount  of  corn  to  three 
pounds  per  pig  per  day.  This  ration  in  addition  to  what  was  se- 
cured from  the  droppings  of  the  steers  getting  silage  produced  satis- 
factory gains.  By  this  system,  however,  we  were  not  able  to  arrive 
at  any  very  definite  conclusion  as  to  just  how  much  of  the  gain  of 
the  pigs  could  be  credited  to  the  droppings  of  the  silage-fed  steers. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  ten  shotes  were  following  twenty-five 
steers.  It  was  thought  best  to  decrease  the  number  to  fire  and  not 
to  give  them  any  additional  corn.  For  the  first  week  following1 
this  change  each  of  the  five  pigs  made  a  daily  gain  of  .4  of  a  pound. 
There  appeared  to  be  sufficient  food  in  the  droppings  of  the  twenty- 
five  steers  to  keep  five  100-pound  shotes  growing  nicely  ;  however, 
the  next  week  the  pigs  lost  1.14  pounds  per  head,  showing-  the  ne- 
cessity of  still  further  reducing  the  number  of  pigs  if  they  were  ex- 
pected to  thrive  on  the  droppings  alone.  Subsequently  the  number 
of  pigs  with  Lot  1  was  decreased  to  one.  By  this  system  of  reduc- 
ing the  number  of  pigs  following  silage-fed  calves  which  received 
a  daily  ration  of  25  to  30  pounds  of  silage,  two  pounds  of  whole 
oats  and  four  pounds  of  mixed  hay  to  each  steer,  it  was  observed 
that  the  droppings  from  twenty-five  such  calves  would  keep  one 
and  possibly  two  pigs  growing  nicely.  Figured  out  more  accurate- 
ly we  might  say  that  it  would  be  fair  to  credit  Lot  1,  the  silage-fed 
steers,  in  addition  to  the  beef  made,  with  the  production  of  87 
pounds  of  pork  in  88  days.  The  matter  of  pigs  following  silage- 
fed  steers  will  bear  further  study. 

The  ten  shotes  following  the  twenty-five  steers  getting  shock 
corn,  oats  and  mixed  hay  received  no  corn  or  other  food  stuff  in  ad- 
dition to  what  they  secured  from  the  droppings  of  the  steers.  The 
total  amount  of  pork  made  by  the  pigs  following  the  shock  corn 
lot  was  587  pounds  in  88  days.  During  the  first  70  days  of  the  experi- 
ment, only  ten  pigs  were  run  with  the  steers  getting  shock  corn. 
During  this  period  they  made  a  total  gain  of  476  pounds.  In  other 
words  the  steers  in  Lot  2  receiving  shock  corn  should  be  credited  in 


274  BULLETIN  NO.  73.  [June, 

addition  to  the  beef  made  during-  the  first  ten  weeks  with  the  pro- 
duction of  6.8  pounds  of  pork  per  day.  During1  the  last  18  days  of 
the  experiment,  fifteen  shotes  were  run  with  the  shock  corn  lot  and 
these  pigs  made  a  total  gain  of  89  pounds  or  an  average  total  daily 
gain  for  the  fifteen  of  4.9  pounds.  This  clearly  indicates  that 
when  the  pig's  are  expected  to  get  their  feed  from  the  droppings  of 
the  steers  better  results  in  pork  production  were  secured  when  ten 
and  not  fifteen  shotes  ran  with  the  twenty-five  steers  getting-  shock 
corn,  oats  and  mixed  hay  in  the  quantities  above  mentioned,  than 
when  fifteen  pigs  followed  the  same  lot  of  steers.  It  should  be  re- 
membered that  these  steers  were  calves  and  that  they  were  not  on 
full  feed.  More  pigs  could  be  run  with  older  cattle  on  full  feed  to 
advantage. 

WEIGHT  OF  STEERS  AT  THE  BEGINNING   AND   END   OF   THE  EX- 
PERIMENT AND  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  POUNDS 
OF  BEEF  PRODUCED.      » 

LOT  i,  SILAGE-FED. 

Total  weight  of  25  steers  February  5,  1902 12,606.66  Ib. 

Total  weight  of  25  steers  May  5,  1002 16,300.00  Ib. 

Total  gain  of  25  steers  tn  88  days 3.693.34  Ib. 

Average  weight  of  steers  at  beginning  of  experiment. . .       504.24  Ib. 

Average  weight  of  steers  at  end  of  experiment 652.00  Ib. 

Average  total  gain  per  steer  in  88  days 147.76  Ib. 

Average  daily  gain  per  steer 1.68  Ib. 

LOT  2,  SHOCK-CORN-FED. 

Total  weight  of  25  steers  February  5,  1902 12,296.66  Ib. 

Total  weight  of  25  steers  May  5,  1002 15,430.00  Ib. 

Total  gain  of  25  steers  in  88  days 3.133-34  Ib. 

Average  weight  of  steers  at  beginning  of  experiment. . .      491.86  Ib. 

Average  weight  of  steers  at  end  of  experiment 617.2     Ib. 

Average  total  gain  per  steer  in  88  days 125-34  Ib. 

Average  daily  gain  per  steer 1.42  Ib. 

The  steers  in  L/ot  1  (with  silage  as  a  part  of  their  ration) 
made  uniformly  satisfactory  gains  from  the  start.  Except  during 
two  weeks  each  steer  in  this  lot  made  an  average  daily  gain  of  one 
pound  or  more.  The  average  daily  gain  per  steer  for  the  whole 
perion  of  88  days  was  1.68  pounds.  The  highest  average  daily 
gain  for  a  period  of  one  week  was  made  during  the  week  ending 
April  14th,  when  the  steers  gained  2.74  pounds  per  day  per  animal. 
The  lowest  average  daily  gain  per  steer  was  made  during  the  week 
ending  March  17th,  when  the  gain  was  .85  of  a  pound.  The  total 
number  of  pounds  of  beef  produced  during  the  88  days  of  the  ex- 
periment was  3,693.34. 


IQO2.]  CORN   SILAGE    AND   SHOCK   CORN   FOR   BEEF   PRODUCTI1ON.  2/5 

The  steers  in  the  shock-corn  lot,  or  Lot  2,  were  much  more 
variable  in  their  gains  and  the  average  daily  gain  was  not  so 
great.  To  indicate  the  wide  range  in  the  average  daily  gain  of 
the  steers  in  this  lot  it  may  be  stated  that,  during  the  week  ending 
March  3d,  there  was  an  average  daily  gain  of  only  .28  of  a  pound  per 
steer,  while  during  the  week  ending  April  7th,  the  average  daily 
gain  of  each  steer  was  3.2  pounds.  The  shock  corn  from  5.33 
acres,  the  acreage  used  in  this  experiment,  was  exhausted  on  May 
5th.  The  shock  corn  lot,  therefore,  should  be  credited  only  with 
the  beef  made  by  the  steers  in  Lot  2  between  the  dates  February 
5th  and  May  5th,  a  period  of  88  days.  During  this  time  the  shock 
corn  steers  made  a  total  gain  of  3,133.34  pounds,  or  an  average 
daily  gain  of  1.42  pounds  per  steer. 

These  figures  show  that  14.55  tons  or  5.33  acres  of  shock  corn 
together  with  137^  bushels  oats,  and  4.4  tons  clover  and  mixed 
hay  made  3,133.34  pounds  of  beef  and  587  pounds  of  pork,  or  a  to- 
tal of  3,720.34  pounds  of  beef  and  pork.  All  of  the  shock  corn 
produced  on  the  5.33  acres  was  consumed.  In  case  of  the  silage 
only  69.95  per  cent,  of  the  total  amount  of  silage  was  used.  This 
69.95  per  cent,  of  5.33  acres  of  corn  (3.73  acres)  or  28^  tons 
silage  fed  together  with  137}^  bushels  oats  and  five  tons  clover  and 
mixed  hay  made  3,693.34  pounds  of  beef  and  87  pounds  of  pork  or 
a  total  of  3,780.34  pounds  of  meat.  The  acreage  required  for  crops 
other  than  corn  was  computed  on  a  basis  of  an  average  crop  of  fifty 
bushels  of  oats  per  acre  and  one  and  one-half  tons  of  hay  per  acre. 

The  silage  remaining,  24,678.81  pounds  (1.6  acres)  fed  to- 
gether with  2.15  tons  (1.43  acres)  of  hay  and  59  bushels  (1.18) 
acres  of  oats  would  produce  1,622.53  pounds  of  beef  and  33  pounds 
of  pork  at  the  same  rate  of  gain  per  pound  of  food  consumed  as 
that  which  prevailed  during  the  progress  of  the  experiment.  Had 
the  silage  all  been  fed  the  amount  of  land  used  in  the  production 
of  the  corn,  oats  and  hay  consumed  would  have  been  14.02  acres,  of 
which  5.33  acres  would  have  been  devoted  to  corn,  4. 93  acres  to  oats 
4.76  acres  to  hay,  or  8.69  acres  of  crops  other  than  corn.  In  the 
case  of  shock  corn,  the  amount  of  land  used  in  the  production  of 
corn,  oats  and  hay  consumed  was  11.01  acres  of  which  5.33  acres 
were  devoted  to  corn,  2.75  acres  to  oats,  2.93  acres  to  hay  or  5.68 
acres  to  crops  other  than  corn.  From  these  figures  we  see  that  in 
feeding  shock  corn  and  corn  silage  from  equal  areas  of  land,  the 
additional  acreage  requiring  to  be  devoted  to  crops  other  than  corn 
is  53  per  cent,  more  in  the  feeding  of  the  silage  than  in  the  feeding 
of  the  shock  corn.  On  the  basis  of  the  total  area  involved  62  per 
cent  in  case  of  silage,  and  51.6  per  cent,  in  case  of  shock  corn  were 


276 


BULLETIN   NO.   73. 


[June, 


IQ02.]  CORN   SILAGE   AND   SHOCK   CORN   FOR   BEEF    PRODUCTION. 


277 


278  BULLETIN  NO.  73.  {June, 

devoted  to  growing-  crops  other  than  corn.  It  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  this  refers  to  the  acreage  involved  and  not  the  meat  made. 
Prom  these  data  we  can  compute  the  number  of  pounds  of  meat 
(beef  and  pork)  produced  per  acre.  Where  silage,  oats  and  hay 
were  fed,  385.35  pounds  of  meat  were  produced  per  acre.  Where 
shock  corn,  oats  and  hay  were  fed,  337.91  pounds  meat  were  pro- 
duced per  acre.  As  the  amounts  of  hay  and  oats  fed  to  the  two 
lots  were  practically  the  same,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  this 
difference  of  47.45  pounds  of  meat  produced  per  acre  was  due  to  the 
different  form  in  which  the  corn  plant  was  fed.  As  the  better  re- 
sults were  secured  with  the  lot  of  steers  receiving  their  corn  in  the 
form  of  silage,  we  may  conclude  that  this  experiment  indicates  that 
it  is  possible  to  get  47.45  pounds  more  meat  from  an  acre  of  corn 
put  in  the  silo  than  when  fed  as  shock  corn  to  calves  which  are  be- 
ing wintered  rather  than  fattened. 

This  experiment  indicates  that  there  are  at  least  nine  advan- 
tages of-  a  system  of  silage  feeding  over  that  of  shock  corn  in  the 
wintering  of  calves  intended  for  beef  production. 

First,  the  corn  can  be  hauled  from  the  field  and  stored  in  the 
silo  at  a  time  when  little  damage  is  done  to  the  soil  by  getting  on 
he  laud  when  it  is  toD  wet. 

Second,  the  manure  and  litter  incident  to  the  feeding  of  steers 
where  silage  is  used,  are  in  much  more  convenient  form  to  handle, 
and  probably  more  readily  available  as  plant  food  than  where 
shock  corn  is.  fed. 

Third,  the  quality  of  silage  and  the  cost  and  convenience  of 
feeding  is  but  little,  if  any,  affected  by  bad  weather  which 
in  Illinois  so  frequently  makes  it  next  to  impossible  to  feed  shock 
corn  to  advantage. 

Fourth,  the  calves  in  the  spring  are  in  better  thrift  and  flesh. 

Fifth,  more  rapid  gains  can  be  secured. 

Sixth,  in  case  of  an  epidemic  of  cholera  or  other  contageous 
swine  disorder,  the  pigs  as  a  factor  in  economical  production  of 
beef  may  be  eliminated  without  any  considerable  loss,  which  would 
be  impossible  in  case  of  steers  feeding  on  shock  or  whole  corn. 

Seventh,  more  pounds  of  meat  can  be  produced  per  acre  where 
silage  is  fed  to  steers  than  where  shock  corn  is  used  ;  even  though 
the  greater  amount  of  pork  produced  in  case  of  a  system  of  shock 
corn  feeding  is  taken  into  account. 

Eighth,  a  much  larger  proportion  of  the  meat  produced  is 
beef. 


IQ02.]  CORN   SILAGE   AND   SHOCK   CORN   FOR   BEEF   PRODUCTION.  279 


FIGURE   3.   A   TYPICAL   REPRESENTATIVE   OF   LOT    I,   FED   ON   SILAGE. 


FIGURE   4.   A   TYPICAL   REPRESENTATIVE   OF   LOT   2,   FED   ON   SHOCK-CORN. 


28o  BULLETIN  NO.  73,  [June, 

Ninth,  the  corn  may  be  harvested  earlier  in  the  season,  gener- 
ally before  danger  of  frosts,  and  at  a  season,  in  Illinois  at  least, 
when  other  farm  work  is  not  pressing.  In  speaking  of  the  advan- 
tages of  the  silo  it  should  not  be  overlooked  that  silage  may  be 
stored  for  late  summer  feeding  when  pastures  are  often  short  and 
the  new  corn  crop  is  too  immature  to  feed  to  good  advantage. 

The  disadvantages  appear  to  be  : 

First,  that  in  feeding  equal  acreages  of  corn  as  silage  and  as 
shock  corn  a  greater  acreage  of  crops  other  than  corn  is  required 
to  supplement  silage  than  shock  corn.  This  is  an  item  which  can- 
not consistently  be  overlooked,  as  economical  beef  production  in 
the  corn  belt  involves  the  utilization  of  as  large  a  proportionate 
amount  of  corn  as  possible  ;  nevertheless,  when  we  consider  the 
ultimate  effect  upon  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  clover  acreage,  at 
least,  may  very  profitably  be  increased. 

Second,  it  is  believed  that  warmer  quarters  must  be  provided 
for  silage  fed  steers  than  for  those  receiving  shock  corn. 

Third,  a  system  of  feeding  steers  on  silage  involves  more  cap- 
ital and  labor. 

Before  attempting  to  draw  final  conclusions  from  the  results  of 
this  experiment  as  to  the  value  of  silage  in  beef  production  the 
reader  should  bear  in  mind  that  wintering  calves  is  but  one  factor 
in  beef  production  and  that  this  experiment  will  not  be  complete 
until  we  have  an  opportunity  to  study  the  subsequent  development 
of  these  two  lots  and  the  quality  of  the  finished  product.  Conclu- 
sions are  withheld,  therefore,  until  the  experiment  is  completed. 

This  experiment  is  but  one  of  a  series  in  which  it  is  the  pur- 
pose to  investigate  thoroughly  this  subject  of  silage  as  a  factor  in 
beef  production. 

SUMMARY. 

1.  The  results  secured  in  this  experiment  were  from  a  yield 
of  ten  tons  of  corn  silage  per  acre  and  32  bushels  of  shelled  corn 
and  1.68  tons  of  corn  stover  per  acre. 

2.  Of  the  50.60  tons  of  corn  put  into  the  silo,  but  43.09  tons 
were  available  for  feeding,  there  being  a  loss  of  7.51  tons.     Two 
tons,  or  about  four  per   cent,  were  spoiled  silage  taken  from  the 
top  of  the  silo  and  5.51  tons  or  10.88  per  cent,  were  shrinkage  in 

gross  weight. 

3.  The  gross  weight  of  silage  available  for  feeding  was  about 
three  times  as  great  as  that  of  shock  corn. 

4.  In  the  feeding  of  5.33  acres  of  silage  to  calves  8.69  acres 
of  crops  other  than  corn  were  used.     In  the  feeding  of  5.33  acres 


IQ02.]  CORN    SILAGE   AND    SHOCK   CORN   FOR   BEEF   PRODUCTION.  28r 

of  shock  corn  to  calves  5.68  acres  of  crops  other  than  corn  were 
used.     This  difference  may  or  may  not  be  found  unavoidable. 

5.  It  requires  a  third  longer  time  to  feed  an  acre  of  corn 
silage  than  an  acre  of  shock  corn. 

6.  The   average  number  of  pounds  of    meat  made  per  acre 
from  a  system  of  silage  feeding  where  oats  and  hay  were  used  as 
supplementary  feeds  was  385.35,  where  shock  corn  with  oats  and 
hay  were  fed  337.91  pounds— a  difference  of  47.45  pounds  per  acre 
in  favor  of  a  system  of  silage  feeding. 

7.  So  far  as  the  cost  of  harvesting  and  feeding  crops  for  the 
production  of  beef  is  concerned,  in  the  net  profits  of  the  enterprise, 
it  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  will'probably  require  nearly  twice 
as  great  an  expenditure  of  labor  and  capital  in  a  system  of  silage 
feeding  as  in  a  system  of  shock  corn  feeding. 

8.  The  silage-fed  steers  were  in  much  better  thrift  and  flesh 
at  the  end  of  the  experiment  than  were  the  shock-corn-fed  steers. 

9.  In  case  of  the  silage-fed  steers  97.69  per  cent,  of  the  meat 
produced  was  beef  and  2.31  per  cent  pork.     In  case  of   the  shock- 
corn-fed  steers  84.22  per  cent,  of  the  meat  produced  was  beef  and 
15.78  per  cent,  was  pork.     This  clearly  shows  that  pork  production 
is  an  important  factor  in  a  system  of  feeding  shock  corn  for  beef 
production,  while  it  may  be  entirely  eliminated  from  a  system  of 
silage  feeding  for  beef  production  practically  without  loss. 

10.  It  should  be  noted  that  the   silage-fed  lot  consumed  less 
feed  than  the  shock  corn  lot  and  less  feed  per   pound   of   gain 
whether  beef  alone  is  considered  or  beef  and  pork  combined.     The 
amount  of  dry  matter  required  to  produce  a  pound  of  gain  of  meat 
where  the  corn  was  fed  in  the  form  of  silage   was  6.52  pounds; 
where  fed  in  the  form  of  shock  corn  it  was  8.57  pounds. 

11.  With  an  average  daily  ration  to  each  steer  in  Lot  1  of  26 
pounds  silage,  two  pounds  oats  and  4.55  pounds  of  mixed  hay,  an 
average  daily  gain  of  1.68  pounds  was  secured  for  a  period  of  88 
days.     With  an  average  daily  ration  to  each  steer  in  Lot  2  of  13.22 
pounds  shock  corn,  two  pounds  oats  and  four  pounds  mixed   hay 
an  average  daily  gain  of  1.42  pounds  was  secured  for  a   period  o 
88  days. 

12.  Under  conditions  comparable  with  those  prevailing  in 
this  experiment  one  steer  would  be  able  to  make  an  average  daily 
gain  of  1.68  pounds  for  a  period  of  six  months  on  .82  of  an  acre  of 
silage,  oats,  and  hay,  of  which  .31  of  an  acre  would  be  devoted  to 
corn  for  silage,  .23  of  an  acre  to  oats  and  .28  of  an  acre  to  hay. 
One  steer  receiving  shock  corn,  oats  and  hay  would  be  able  to 
make  an  average  daily  gain  of  1.42  pounds  for  a  period  of  six 


282  BULLETIN   NO.   73.  [June, 

months  on  .92  of  an  acre,  of  which  .45  of  an  acre  would  be  devoted 
to  growing-  the  corn,  .23  of  an  acre  to  oats,  and  .24  of  an  acre  to 
hay,  making-  a  difference  of  .26  of  a  pound  of  meat  per  day  per 
steer  and  one-tenth  of  an  acre  of  land  for  the  season,  both  being- 
in  favor  of  the  steers  receiving1  their  corn  in  the  form  of  silage  for 
the  period  designated. 


8&VS  4 


3r^.^m 


&-^: 


UNI VERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-        ;•,• 

711  CD 


